Cleopatra

__Cleopatra’s Early Childhood__  Cleopatra, the Princess of the Nile, was born in 69 BCE in Alexandria, Egypt. She had a father, Ptolemy Auletes who were the king of Egypt. Cleopatra also had three sisters and two brothers, Tryphaena, Berenice, and Arsinoe (sisters), and Ptolemy One and Ptolemy the Younger (brothers). Tryphaena was ten years older than her. She wanted to be the queen but she never would be one. But Berenice would never be like that to Cleopatra. They both loved each other even though Berenice was eight years older than her.

Cleopatra and her siblings were provided with all the best food, the finest clothing, and ceremonies. They were all very pleased about the luxury. But though they were spoilt by their father, education was really important to them. Cleopatra studied philosophy, literature, art, music, medicine, and could speak six different languages.

Life in the palace was nice. But Cleopatra’s father was missing. Cleopatra did not know where her father was though Tryphaena seemed to. She thought he was actually dead but he wasn’t. Tryphaena made herself queen. But Ptolemy Auletes was still alive and was still the king. Though Cleopatra didn’t want him to die, she wanted to the best-known queen. The King made a plan to punish Egypt’s villagers. Cleopatra was scared. Since people wanted to murder the King and she was the King’s favorite daughter, people wanted to kill her too. That frightened Cleopatra. But it was true. Tryphaena’s friends were trying to poison her! Life was hard for Cleopatra, when everyone wanted to kill her just because she was the King’s favorite daughter, apparently. Cleopatra decided to go with her father to Rome to help him. While she and her father were in Rome, Tryphaena was ruling Egypt. She wanted Cleopatra to die. But the supporters of the King assassinated Tryphaena. Suddenly the King became ill. Cleopatra was worried about him and Egypt. She was scared that she might be killed because some supported were murdered everyday. Life was really mysterious and scary. She didn’t know what to do. Then Cleopatra and the King met Julius Caesar for help. He was the powerful Roman general. They needed Caesar’s army to fight the angry Egyptian villagers. Caesar’s army fought and won. So Cleopatra and the King went back to Egypt. When they came back, Berenice was the queen. Cleopatra would not believe it. The King first ordered execution for Berenice and then chopped her head off. Finally Cleopatra became the queen.

__The Queen of Egypt __

__INTRODUCTION__ Cleopatra was a ruler of [|Egypt], who used share the throne with her dad Ptolemy XII and after with her brothers & husbands [|Ptolemy XIII] and [|Ptolemy XIV] ; eventually ruling Egypt alone. As [|Pharaoh], she had a relationship with [|Gaius Julius Caesar] , who was a great ruler of Rome. This made her reputation on the throne perfect. After sometime, Caesar was killed, and then she met [|Mark Antony]. Cleopatra had four kids in all, first a son with [|Caesar] (Ptolemy Caesar and was nicknamed [|Caesarion] ), and another three kids with Mark Antony (the twins, [|Cleopatra Selene II] and [|Alexander Helios], and a son [|Ptolemy Philadelphus] ). Her time in power marks the end of the [|Hellenistic Era] and the beginning of the [|Roman Era] in the eastern Mediterranean. She was the last Pharaoh of [|Ancient Egypt]. Her son with Julius Caesar, ruled with her only a few years before [|Octavian], later renamed Caesarian, and had him killed. Most likely by strangling him, which in ancient times was the way to kill kids for making embarrassment to his death! Though she pretty much owned the throne, she spoke nine languages. But her usual language was Greek. For many centuries before she ruled, Egyptian kings had been from Macedonian (i.e. [|Hellenistic]) origin rather than the Egyptian origin. The organization of Greek-speaking noble people in Egypt had come with [|Alexander the Great] nearly 300 years ago. Cleopatra’s reputation was to be the first member of her family in their 300-year reign in Egypt to have learned [|Egyptian]. Cleopatra adopted common Egyptian beliefs and customs. Her favorite goddess was [|Isis], and during her time in power people believed that she was the re-incarnation and embodiment of Isis, the goddess of wisdom. Many people also say that she made her own makeup and, she bathed in donkey milk.

__CLEOPATRA ♥ JULUIS CAESAR__ To get to Caesar’s palace Cleopatra rolled herself up in a [|Persian rug] and had it given to Caesar by her servants. When her servants opened the rug, Cleopatra came out and talked to Caesar. People believe that Caesar was charmed by what Cleopatra did, and she became his mistress/girlfriend. Nine months after their first talk, Cleopatra had Caesar’s baby. Then, Caesar let go of his plans to take over Egypt, and instead he supported Cleopatra's fight for the throne. After a short war, Ptolemy XIII was drowned in the [|Nile] and Caesar gave Cleopatra her throne back with another younger brother called, [|Ptolemy XIV] as a new co-ruler. Even though Cleopatra and Caesar had about a thirty year age difference, Cleopatra and Caesar started to have a relationship during his stay in Egypt between 48 BCE and 47 BCE. They met when Cleopatra was 21 and Caesar was 52. In [|47 BC]E Cleopatra gave birth to another kid, named [|Ptolemy Caesar] ([|nicknamed] Caesarion which means little Caesar). Cleopatra said that she wanted Caesar to make the baby his heir, but Caesar refused, choosing his grandnephew [|Octavian] instead. Cleopatra and Caesarion visited Rome around 47 BCE or 44 BCE and might have been there when Caesar was killed on the [|15th of March], in 44 BCE. After the death she returned to Egypt. When Ptolemy XIV died because of bad health, Cleopatra made [|Caesarion] her co-ruler. To make Caesarion and herself, she also had her sister Arsinoe killed.  __HER DEATH__ There are many different stories about Cleopatra’s death. Some say that After Antony and Cleopatra were defeated by their enemy, Gaius Julius Caesar [|Octavian], Cleopatra committed suicide, the date that most people say is the [|12th of August] 30 BCE and some people say that it happened in Alexandria, by an [|asp] bite. Some ancient sources, especially the Roman ones say that Cleopatra poisoned herself by making an [|asp] bite her. People say that she might have been in Alexandria when she died. There are basically two stories about her death; one was that she put a toxic ointment on herself, or that she was bitten by an asp. Some people say that she was found dead, her maid Iras who was dying herself in front of Cleopatra because she was so sad, and another maid, Charmion was adjusting her crown before she herself fell. Most people say that an asp was hidden in a basket of figs that was brought to her by one of her servants, and she found it after eating a few figs and she held her arm out so it could bite her!! Other stories say that it was hidden in a vase, and that she poked it until it got angry and then it bite her arm. The death of Mark Antony was before Cleopatra died. His army abandoned him and joined Octavian; he said that Cleopatra had betrayed him. She was really scared and so she locked herself somewhere with her two maids and sent messengers to Antony to say that she was dead. Antony Believed them, and then he stabbed himself in the stomach with his sword, and lay down so that he could die. Instead, his blood flow stopped, and he begged someone to finish his death. To this day Cleopatra is very popular. People have made many pieces of art of her and drama’s like Shakespeare.

Even today, I think many people know about Cleopatra and think that she is an amazing person and even though she is dead, I think the stories about her will last forever.

Sources: The Royal Diaries Cleopatra VII (book) [|www.wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_Cleopatra_VII_'s_family_history]  [|www.travelegypt.com] [|www.larryponchobrown.com] [|www.anticogittao.netcleopatra.htm] [|www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleopatra_VII_of_Egypt] [|www.touregypt.net/cleopatr.htm]

By: Christine You, Lennan Sarathchandra, Myrea Jaigirdar 6A 